Bradley Walsh planning to retire from The Chase after more than a decade

The presenter has hosted the show since 2009 (Picture: ITV)

Bradley Walsh is one of the biggest names on the telly after presenting The Chase for more than a decade – but he’s preparing to give it all up sooner than you might think.

The presenter, who was recently announced as the one of the richest daytime TV stars with ‘an impressive £12.5million in the bank’, has announced he is preparing to retire in a few years time.

The 61-year-old spoke on the Sliding Doors podcast about being prepared to call time on his 40-year career.

‘You know what, in a couple of years time I won’t have to do any of it, I’ll be retired and that’ll be it,’ he said.

Bradley has become a regular on ITV over the years, hosting The Chase for more than a decade, and spin-off Beat The Chasers.

‘It seems like I’m on your screen all the time only because I cram everything in a certain area of the year. We make 210 Chases, 16 Celebrity Chases, 16 Beat The Chasers. It’s only actually 86 days recording,’ he said.

The presenter is preparing to leave the show in a few year’s time (Picture: ITV/REX)

The presenter is also due to host new BBC game show Take Off with Holly Willoughby. He’ll also star in ITV’s Darling Buds Of May reboot The Larkins.

Talking about his tough schedule, Bradley said: ‘So out of 365 days, you’d imagine I have loads of time off. But once you’ve got your bedrock of shows set in, that allows you then to go off and do other things.

‘I don’t actually have time off, I have meetings, I have personal appearances I have to make and stuff like that with other things I’ve got going on, so it’s quite tricky to juggle it about.’

More: The Chase

Bradley first hosted The Chase in 2009, and he added: ‘The Chase allows me to do the other stuff which I really want to do — not that I don’t love doing The Chase.

‘The Larkins is the new series, so that’s a 14 to 15-week shoot, and then you need five to six weeks on the road for [ITV series] Breaking Dad.’

The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV.

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